and ghastly expression; his contracted pupils and the stupor from which
he could hardly be roused by the roughest handling and which yet did not
amount to actual insensibility; all these formed a distinct and coherent
group of symptoms, not only pointing plainly to the nature of the drug,
but also suggesting a very formidable dose.

But this conclusion in its turn raised a very awkward and difficult
question. If a large--a poisonous--dose of the drug had been taken, how,
and by whom had that dose been administered? The closest scrutiny of
the patient's arms and legs failed to reveal a single mark such as would
be made by a hypodermic needle. This man was clearly no common
morphinomaniac; and in the absence of the usual sprinkling of
needlemarks, there was nothing to show or suggest whether the drug had
been taken voluntarily by the patient himself or administered by someone
else.

And then there remained the possibility that I might, after all, be
mistaken in my diagnosis. I felt pretty confident. But the wise man
always holds a doubt in reserve. And, in the present case, having regard
to the obviously serious condition of the patient, such a doubt was
eminently disturbing. Indeed, as I pocketed my stethoscope and took a
last look at the motionless, silent figure, I realized that my position
was one of extraordinary difficulty and perplexity. On the one hand my
suspicions--aroused, naturally enough, by the very unusual circumstances
that surrounded my visit--inclined me to extreme reticence; while, on
the other, it was evidently my duty to give any information that might
prove serviceable to the patient.

As I turned away from the bed Mr. Weiss stopped his slow pacing to and
fro and faced me. The feeble light of the candle now fell on him, and I